“And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go unto Nineveh…” Jonah 3:1
Dear Ones:
The story of God’s dealings with Jonah the prophet, and preacher, is rich in revealing His dealings with us. One of the most fundamental, underlying revelations of God working in Jonah, “…the willing and the doing of His good pleasure,” is found in Jonah’s declaration of his own personal knowledge of God. He wrote in one of his prayers to God: “…for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of evil.” (4:2) Where did Jonah get such an accurate, and profound, knowledge of these truths of God, His character and nature? It was by the Spirit of God. It was as this prophet worshipped God, and served Him, that the knowledge of God’s gracious dealings with men, and the purposes of God, were revealed to the very soul of Jonah. This knowledge is the very foundation, and bedrock, which explains His dealings with Jonah, the mariners in the story, and the people of Nineveh. How is this so?
First of all, we see that the entire revelation of His dealings begins with one thing: “….Now, the word of the Lord came unto Jonah.” (1:1) The Lord speaking is always the first thing. We see it in the creation of the world, the new creation when one is born of the Spirit, and here, where God desires to do a deeper work in Jonah, and at the same time, save mariners and Ninevites alike. The question becomes, “…How will Jonah respond to the specific word of the Lord to his own heart?”
In the Apostle Paul’s experience, at his conversion to Christ, we find that, as the bright light shone round about him on the way to Damascus, the Lord Jesus spoke to him. Again, all begins with Jesus speaking. Christ identifies Himself to Saul of Tarsus, telling him two things. The first is that Saul is persecuting Christ when he persecutes those who belong to Christ. Thus, without truly understanding, Saul is “attacking” God, at war with Him. The second thing is that Saul is engaged in a vain, and useless pursuit, in “…kicking against the pricks.” What does Christ mean by this? Saul was fighting against God, not only in a destructive frame of mind, but also, with one which resisted the very work of God to bring him to himself. Christ’s words to him reveal that it is a futile, and vain endeavor to resist, and actually “kick against,” the overtures of God to save him, and to reveal to him the calling of God.
The second thing we discover in God’s dealings with Jonah, is that His purpose will not be thwarted. As Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, so He will deal with His prophet in such a manner that His objectives will be realized, and the Ninevites saved from destruction. Between the moment when Jonah boarded the ship to “flee from the presence of the Lord,” as he did not want the Ninevites saved, God apparently did not speak to him, until he repented. All of God’s dealings with Jonah with regard to the storm at sea, the experience in the belly of the fish for three days, and the consequent vomiting by the fish of Jonah onto dry land, were the calculated efforts and work of God, to bring Jonah to that place where God could again speak to him, bless him, and save many as a result.
The third thing we see in God’s dealings with Jonah, is that the calling never ceased. As Jonah would again comply with that calling, and charge, God would work and accomplish that which He had willed. The great reward for Jonah, not to mention the Ninevites, was the realization of Jonah’s declared knowledge of God, as being gracious, merciful, longsuffering, of great kindness, and turning aside from judgment. Jonah and the people would see this accomplished before their very eyes, when they repented and were spared.
Dear Father, Make us to hear Thy voice, for Thy words are life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad